How to Preventing Further Injury to your Shoulder – Advice by Physiotherapist Anthony Sheridan

Question: I have hurt my shoulder recently – Can I still keep exercising/playing sport? If I just “push through” the pain – Will this cause further damage?

The shoulder is one of the more complex joints in the body and there are a lot of different internal structures that could be the source of shoulder pain.
Examples of some of the injuries that can cause shoulder pain include:

a) Damage to the Labrum (cartilage in the shoulder socket)
b) Rotator Cuff Tear or Tendonopathy
c) Muscle Imbalances resulting in pinching of structures in the shoulder
d) Instability of the ball and socket due to lax (loose) ligaments and/or weak muscles
e) Pain can also be caused from a problem in the cervical or thoracic spine (upper spine)

Unfortunately, there are several other potential culprits of shoulder pain and these problems can cause pain to come on gradually for no apparent reason or suddenly due to trauma (i.e a fall, impact or overuse). The different injuries can account for sharp pain, a dull ache or a feeling of tightness. Many of these problems can certainly get worse if you try to push through.

For these reasons, it is clear that you should at least first get your shoulder assessed by a physiotherapist so that we can diagnose the cause of your pain. We can then inform you, based on our assessment, whether continuing to play and ‘push through’ will prevent your problem from getting better or whether you would be at risk of making it even worse.

Physios are skilled at identifying the source of shoulder pain and we can then help you to rehabilitate the problem so that you can manage the risk of the pain reoccurring. We can also see if you may need further assessment through appropriate imaging or whether you may need additional advise from a specialist.

Don’t let pain hold you back, book an appointment with myPhysioSA so we can get you back on track sooner.